Kemptville 73s Cameron McLean never thought much about life after junior hockey until within the last few months.

The 19-year-old defenceman just didn’t see it in the cards for himself. He played AA minor hockey for most of his life. Once he hit the Jr. B ranks in the CCHL2 he figured that’s where he was going to stay, but, “I had one good year and ended up here,” McLean said.

He’s being relatively coy with that statement.

To say his one good year was just good would be like saying the Titanic was simply a boating accident. McLean lit the CCHL2 on fire in his sophomore season last year with the Athens Aeros. He was a First-Team All-Star and the league’s Defenceman of the Year after collecting 62 points, a leaguehigh for blue-liners.

The 73s also offered him a fulltime gig last year after his first game with the team in November, but, “He’s such a loyal kid to his teammates that he didn’t want to leave Athens because they were doing well and he was good friends with the guys there,” said Kemptville coach Jeff Jordan.

McLean started this season with the 73s and Kemptville should be happy he said yes this time around. He was also a late cut from the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds this past off-season, so the OHL team’s loss is Kemptville’s gain. If the Brockville native wasn’t 19-years-old then there’s a good chance he would have made the cut to the Soo, said Jordan.

McLean already has five goals, a league-high for a defenceman, and three assists in 10 CCHL games this season with the 73s. There were only 23 blue-liners in the entire CCHL that scored at least five goals all of last 2017-18 season.

“I never really thought about going to school for hockey or taking it too seriously until I got here (with the Kemptville 73s) and saw the opportunity,” said McLean. “Now, of course. Now you gotta.”

All this could just be the beginning of what could be – and what 73s staff believe to be – a big year for McLean.

Here’s a teenager, said Jordan and 73s co-owner and head of hockey operations Jason York, who has never had the advantage of specialized skills and skate training or private coaches and he’s already dominating the CCHL in his first year in the league. Everything McLean is doing now, they added, is his natural talent. Give him some serious coaching and “Sky is the limit,” tweeted out York in a brief assessment of McLean when it was announced he was Player of the Week for last week.

“The kid has been playing Tier II or Tier III his whole life without any advantages that other kids had and for him to be doing what he’s doing just shows his talent level,” said Jordan. “I told him in June at our main camp that he’s unaware of his potential or at least he was. I think he’s kind of realizing it now, but at that time he was just playing to have fun. A lot of his peers were working their asses off, but don’t have nearly the amount of skill he has – just natural skill.”

McLean might not have the training, but some of his top-end skill might come from playing another sport at a high level, guessed York.

McLean has played Jr. B lacrosse with the Gloucester Griffins for the last three years. The Kemptville staff laughed when asked if they can tell some of his lacrosse tendencies seeping into his hockey style. For the first five games of this year, said assistant coach Scott Dexter, McLean skated around holding his stick high with two hands like you would see from a lacrosse player running down the rink.

A terrific shot, athleticism, and a good size at 6-foot-1 and 185-pounds is on McLean’s side to continue to his rise in the CCHL. It’s easy to forget how raw he is at times with how well he’s excelling.

“He’s got to put in the work and so far, so good,” said York. “You can’t just be athletic and gifted and, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to play.’You got to work extremely hard. He’s going to have some ups and downs and how he’s going to face that adversity we don’t know. Being good doesn’t cut it anymore.”

Jordan interjected to mention that McLean messaged him the other day for his HockeyTV – which web broadcasts and archives every CCHL game – log-in to watch past games and take some notes.

“His brain is working,” said Jordan.

For every compliment the 73s staff has about his skill on the ice, they have something to say about his character off it.

For instance, there’s the time coaches went to talk to him at a Tim Hortons in July to convince him to play in Kemptville. When McLean got in his car to leave he noticed an elderly woman struggling to start her vehicle, so he got out and helped her jump it.

Word has been getting out about McLean. Kemptville staff wasn’t sure if he had the credits to get into university. Then Jordan got his transcripts and read that he had about an 80 average at TISS, the coach said.

McLean still has another year of junior hockey available to him, but Jordan doesn’t expect him back next season. Rochester Institute of Technology asked for his transcripts Wednesday morning. Dexter has been talking about McLean to St. Lawrence University coaches and telling them this is a player they want to see.

Dexter could give the same advice to local and area fans. McLean might not be around these parts for much longer. This is aguy you will want to see before he goes to the next level.